1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to water supply systems, and particularly to a salt water distillation system for producing fresh water from salt water, such as water from the ocean.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many areas of the country and around the world, fresh water supplies are scarce or are dwindling. Salt water (also sometimes referred to herein as saltwater) is not suitable for drinking, for irrigation, or other purposes without further processing. Salt water distillation systems have been known for centuries. One well known process comprises the evaporation of salt water, the condensation of the evaporated water, the precipitation of the condensed water, and the collection of the precipitated water.
The aforementioned process may be sped up by increasing heat in the evaporation process and decreasing ambient temperature during the condensation process. Yet, since the cost and amount of energy needed to distill salt water into fresh water remains extremely high, there remains a continuing need to improve the efficiencies involved in the distillation process. French Patent No. 2546873, issued December 1984, WIPO Patent No. WO 03/0704644, issued August 2003, Japanese Patent No. 2004-181449, issued July 2004, Japanese Patent No. 61-222590, issued October 1986, Japanese Patent No. 61-254287, issued November 1986, and Japanese Patent No JP3000182, issued January 1991, do not appear to disclose or suggest either individually or in combination all of the features of the present invention.
Thus, a salt water distillation system solving the aforementioned problems is desired.